Järjestikused

Järjestikused is the Estonian term for ordinal numerals, a class of words used to express order or position within a sequence. They distinguish the position of an item rather than its quantity, which is the domain of cardinal numbers such as üks (one), kaks (two), kolm (three). In everyday language, common examples of järjestikused are esimene (first), teine (second), kolmas (third), neljas (fourth) and so on. Järjestikused are treated as adjectives in Estonian: they describe nouns and decline for number and case in agreement with the noun they modify.

In grammar, ordinal numerals can be used with a variety of nouns, including days, objects, and events. For example, esimene päev means the first day, kolmas korrus means the third floor, and kolmanda märtsi refers to the third of March in a date expression. Higher ordinals are formed in a similar manner and may require inflection to fit the sentence’s grammatical case. The usage patterns of järjestikused are important in education, scheduling, rankings, and any context where position or sequence is relevant.

In science and mathematics, ordinal numbers denote positions in a sequence, such as the first element, the second index, or the nth term. They contrast with cardinal numbers, which denote quantity. Both forms can appear in formal writing, dictionaries, and technical texts, but järjestikused retain their role in indicating order across contexts.

See also: ordinal numbers, Estonian grammar, numerals.